JP5853015B2 - Integrated lighting assembly - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention describes an integrated lighting assembly and an automotive headlamp device.

  In lighting assemblies such as those used in automobiles, the bright / dark “cut-off line” of the light output by the lighting assembly must meet certain rules. Furthermore, this light / dark cut-off line must be adaptable. The entire beam of light output by the lighting assembly must be adjustable, for example to produce a low beam that illuminates the area just in front of the vehicle and a high beam that expands the illumination area. Depending on the situation, it is desirable to have adaptability to the light output, such as better illuminating the area within the curve when the curve is approached to improve safety. Furthermore, it is convenient to influence the amount of light in the foreground beam pattern, that is, in the region closest to the vehicle, depending on traffic conditions, topography, weather, and the like.

  Conventionally, the high beam and the low beam are generated using separate light sources of two separate illumination devices. In general, using a conventional filament lamp or gas discharge lamp, two light emitting units are mounted in the vicinity of the headlamp device so that a high beam and a low beam are correctly irradiated to the front area of the vehicle. . The headlamp optics does not use true “imaging” optics, but one side of the light source or one side of the shading element is “imaged” to obtain the required beam distribution cutoff. The quality of the light beam must meet certain requirements. For example, the shape and outer shape of the light beam applied to the lateral surface of the vehicle at a standard distance from the headlamp, for example, 25 meters, is different from that of each country such as ECE (Economic Commission for Europe) R112 or international. Covered with specifications.

  As technological advances have made economical and very bright semiconductor light sources possible, lighting units and assemblies that use semiconductor light sources such as light emitting diode (LED) chips are becoming widely used. Since the semiconductor light source is compact, it is convenient to combine two light sources for two different beam functions into one device. However, the known method has not yielded satisfactory results. Since the light from each light source is directed to one optical element, the physical separation between the two light sources is also imaged and appears as a “gap” between the illumination beams, eg, a dark area between the low and high beams. Even if the gap between the light sources is small, the gap of the beam distribution can be seen. This is a safety issue while driving because things in this area are virtually invisible to the driver. In particular, the shoulders and curve areas on the side of the vehicle are important. This is because a pedestrian, animal, or dangerous object in this area is difficult to see. In addition, the secondary optic is “common” and must be large, and the entire device is approximately the same size as a device with separate optics for each function, and the light source is compact. The advantage is lost. The optical element can be designed to distort the beam to eliminate this gap. However, such a distortion inevitably causes a harmful effect on the light / dark cut-off line, and may not satisfy the above requirement. Furthermore, the correction means of the optical element affects both beams and the beams cannot be controlled and corrected separately.

  Therefore, one object of the present invention is to provide an improved illumination device that avoids the above problems.

The object of the present invention is achieved by an integrated lighting assembly according to claim 1 and an automotive headlamp device according to claim 13 .

An integrated lighting assembly according to the present invention includes an optical device, a first light source that generates a first light beam, a first collimator that directs the first beam to the optical device, and a second light beam. A second light source that generates and a second collimator that directs the second beam to the optical device, whereby the first and second beams are directed to essentially separate areas of the optical device. The collimator has a collimator on one side of the optical axis of the illumination assembly that directs the light beam to a region of the optical device on the other side of the optical axis, and the beam of the die 1 is directed to the optical device so as to intersect the beam of the die 2 before reaching, i.e., the optical device, provides a low exit beam and the high exit beam by operating said first and second light beams, the low exit beam High exit beam to at least partially overlap in the overlap area on the projection surface at a predetermined distance from said integrated lighting assembly. A “projection plane” is a virtual plane or screen at a standard distance from an integrated lighting device, the distance of which depends on the application in which the integrated lighting device is used. For example, in the case of automotive headlamp applications, the ECE R112 standard mentioned at the beginning places such a virtual projection plane perpendicular to the front of the vehicle and transversely to the propagation direction, at a distance of 25 m from the headlamp device. Need to be done.

The obvious advantage of the integrated lighting assembly according to the invention is that the front area of the vehicle is always optimally illuminated and there is no “dark” or unilluminated “gap” between the two exit beams. Furthermore, this can be achieved without a separate unit, for example in the case of “low beam” and “high beam” devices. This eliminates the need to carefully align the separate lighting units that are required with prior art solutions. Since the first and second beams are separated when reaching the optical device, the optical device can manipulate the exit beam separately to provide the desired overlap area on the projection surface. Furthermore, since the low exit beam and the high exit beam are realized by using one optical device, the entire integrated illumination device can be realized cost-effectively.

  The automotive headlamp device according to the present invention has such an integrated lighting assembly. With the integrated lighting device according to the present invention, the beam can be configured for each beam function and still be a compact optical system, which is attractive for cost effective LED headlamp solutions.

  The dependent claims and the following description disclose particularly advantageous embodiments and features of the invention. The features of the embodiments may be combined as necessary to form still another embodiment.

  In the following, without limiting the present invention in any way, it is assumed that the first and second collimators are arranged one above the other and the first and second beams are projected up and down depending on the implementation. In this case, one collimator is called the “upper” collimator and the other collimator is called the “lower” collimator. For the sake of simplicity, the first exit beam is hereinafter referred to as a “low” beam and the second exit beam is referred to as a “high” beam. Depending on the implementation described below, the collimator is basically configured symmetrically with respect to the optical axis of the optical device.

  Using the integrated illumination device according to the present invention, an optical device (hereinafter also referred to as “sub-optical system”) simply refracts light from the first light source to provide a first exit beam, and similarly to the second Refracts light from the light source to provide a second exit beam. However, it is advantageous to manipulate the first and second beams so that the first and second exit beams meet certain functional requirements. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the optical device of the integrated lighting assembly has a diverging element that diverges incident light in the horizontal direction and / or a shift element that shifts incident light in the vertical direction. The secondary optical system may be partially covered by these additional functional elements, or these functional elements may completely cover the secondary optical system.

  In automotive applications, a low beam or fog beam is used to illuminate the area below the front of the vehicle. It is desirable to illuminate as wide an area as possible, especially on the side of the road close to the shoulder. Therefore, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the diverging element diverges at least part of the first beam and is irradiated with the first exit beam in the projection plane prior to manipulation by the optical device. Two overlapping first beam regions are provided. These first beam regions are basically wider and have a more “stretched” low beam and an unoperated low beam.

  In automotive applications, the high beam is preferably not only upward, but also partially downward so that the road is well lit. Therefore, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the shifting element shifts at least part of the second beam and is irradiated with the second exit beam before being manipulated by the optical device. Two overlapping second beam regions are provided. Thus, the manipulated part of the high beam is “pushed down” and overlaps the low beam area, while the non-operated part of the high beam is used for lighting the high area in front of the vehicle. .

  In one embodiment of the invention, the optical device preferably comprises a projection lens. The shift element and / or the diverging element can be realized by attaching a suitably shaped microstructure behind the lens (ie, the side of the lens facing the light source). These microstructures have the function of generating an optimum beam shape for each function. For example, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the shift element has a plurality of prism elements mounted on the projection lens and is configured to shift light incident on the shift element in the vertical direction before reflection by the projection lens. The Such a series of thin prism elements can be attached to a region of the lens, for example, to shift the light away from the optical axis prior to refraction by the projection lens. With these prism elements, it is possible to shift a part of the high beam, for example downwards, so that the high beam illumination area has two high beam areas, giving a more optimal beam performance.

  In another preferred embodiment of the present invention, the diverging element has a plurality of cylindrical lens elements mounted on the projection lens, and refracts light incident on the diverging element before refraction by the projection lens to diverge in the horizontal direction. Configured to do. For example, before refraction by the projection lens, the incoming light beam is refracted and diverged in the horizontal direction, for example, the low beam is at least partially diverged, and the low beam illumination area has two low beam areas, so that the more optimal low beam To provide performance, a series of semi-cylindrical lenses may be attached to a region of the lens.

  Alternatively, the optical device may include a collimator that is open at one end and has a reflector that directs the light beam outward. In an integrated lighting device using a reflector, the shifting element and / or the divergence is achieved by manipulating the surface of the reflector, for example by forming a facet of a suitable shape in an area of the reflector. Elements can be formed. In an integrated illumination device realized using a reflector instead of a lens, the collimator is not necessarily configured symmetrically with respect to the optical axis of the reflector, and the reflector itself may be asymmetric.

The separation of the beam that reaches the secondary optical system is desirable for optimal beam shaping .

Beam separation is possible in several ways . As described above, the integrated illumination assembly has a collimator device, and a collimator on one side of the optical axis of the illumination assembly has its light beam essentially in the region of the optical device on the other side of the optical axis. The collimator device is configured such that the first beam is tolerated with the second beam before reaching the optical device. In other words, the “upper” collimator is configured to direct its light beam to the “lower” region of the secondary optics, and the “lower” collimator directs the light beam to the “upper” auxiliary optical region. The light beam passing through the focal point of the secondary optical system basically leaves the secondary optical system in parallel. In other words, in this “cross beam” embodiment, the light “on” the focal plane emanating from the light exit aperture of the collimator is effectively projected by the optical device to form an “image” of the light exit aperture. Therefore, in high beam / low beam applications, an “upper” light source is used to generate a low beam, while an “lower” light source is used to generate a high beam. This embodiment is very convenient because the design of the collimator is simplified. The light source, more precisely, the light exit aperture of the collimator is imaged on a virtual screen or projection surface. To obtain the desired overlap in the projection plane, add additional functional elements such as prism elements that shift part of the low beam upward or part of the high beam downward to obtain the desired overlap area Thus, the sub optical system can be corrected.

  However, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the projection plane overlap region is obtained by appropriately manipulating the first and second beams before reaching the secondary optical system. Therefore, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the integrated illumination unit comprises a collimator device, which collimator is at least partly in the focal plane overlap region on the focal plane of the optical device. So that the projection plane overlap region corresponds to the focal plane overlap region.

  Increasing the beam overlap at the focal plane increases the overlap area on the projection plane or screen. However, it is generally desirable that there is an illumination area for each exit beam and that the overlap region on the projection surface is narrow. The light beams exiting the collimator preferably overlap slightly on the focal plane. In a further preferred embodiment of the present invention, as described above, the light on the focal plane emanating from the collimator is effectively used to form an “image” of the light source, so that the integrated illumination assembly includes a collimator device; The optical exit apertures of the first and second collimators are near the focal plane of the optical device. Here, the term “near” should be understood to mean that the beams slightly overlap on the focal plane. The actual distance between the light exit aperture and the focal plane depends on the size of the integrated lighting device and the intended application. For example, when using an LED light source in a collimator having a length of about 10 mm in a high beam / low beam automobile headlamp device, this distance is preferably 2 mm, more preferably 1 mm, and most preferably 0.5 mm.

  In order to intersect the beams, the collimators can be configured to make an angle with each other. However, from a production standpoint, it may be preferable and economical to mount both light sources on a common, essentially flat carrier, rather than using two carriers at an angle. Therefore, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the integrated illumination device preferably has a collimator device, with a prism element attached to the light exit aperture of one or both collimators. Such a prism element preferably refracts the light beam towards the optical axis so that the first and second beams overlap and at the same time the light source can be mounted on a common flat carrier.

  Any suitable light source that is sufficiently small and bright and can be partially placed in the collimator can be used. However, in a particularly preferred embodiment of the integrated lighting assembly according to the present invention, the light source comprises an LED light source. For example, very bright thin-film “white” LEDs are available, such as Luxeon® Altilon LEDs. Without limiting the invention in any way, such light sources can be configured into functional groups to generate the first and / or second beams. For example, a light beam can be generated by driving an LED array in a corresponding collimator device.

  A collimator including light sources for embodiments that intersect before the light beam reaches the secondary optics or optical device can be formed in any suitable manner. For example, the walls of the collimator can be configured to give a rectangular cross-section (so that the corresponding beam is basically square in cross-section), and can be configured to have a tapered shape, a parallel shape, or the like. Preferably, the wall is formed so as to give a light beam that basically keeps its cross section until reaching the secondary optical system. The collimator walls are preferably thin enough so that the optical exit aperture is as close as possible when the collimator is positioned at an angle so that the collimator touches or nearly touches (so that the beams intersect). Therefore, the wall thickness of the collimator is preferably about 0.1 mm to 1 mm. The collimator for directing the region light beam of the secondary optical system on the same side of the optical axis is preferably formed so as to be a first / second beam overlap area with an area maximum of 20 ° as described above. The length of the collimator can be selected depending on the system in which it is incorporated. For example, a short collimator having a length of about 6 mm or a long collimator having a length of about 18 mm can be used. Preferably, for automotive applications such as an integrated lighting device for headlamps, the collimator preferably comprises a near-die collimator having a length of about 12 mm, for example 10-14 mm.

1 shows a car with a prior art headlamp device that irradiates a high and low beam onto a virtual illumination screen; 1 shows a prior art illumination device for irradiating a high and low beam onto a virtual illumination screen; FIG. 3 shows another prior art illumination device that irradiates a virtual illumination screen with a high beam and a low beam; 1 is a block diagram illustrating an integrated lighting device according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an integrated lighting device according to a second embodiment of the present invention; Is a block diagram illustrating an integrated illumination device; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an integrated lighting device according to a third embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 shows a projection lens with additional functional elements used in an integrated lighting device according to the invention; FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an integrated lighting device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a headlamp device according to an embodiment of the present invention; It is a figure which shows the motor vehicle which has the headlamp apparatus shown in FIG. 8 which irradiates a high beam and a low beam on a virtual irradiation screen. In the drawings, the same numbers indicate the same items. Things in the drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale; in particular, the elements and relative positions of optical devices such as lenses and collimators are shown in a very simplified manner.

  FIG. 1 shows a motor vehicle 10 having a prior art headlamp 11 with an illumination device that irradiates a low beam 160 and a high beam 170 onto a virtual illumination screen 4; A virtual screen 4 is shown at a standard distance D from the lamp device. According to the standard, the distance D is 25 m, and the spatial areas 41, 42 covered by the low beam and high beam irradiation on the screen must meet certain requirements. For example, the low beam 160 must illuminate the smallest area 42 in front of and next to the headlamp. The low beam 160 must be directed to the side of the car away from the center of the road so that light can reach the shoulder, and at the same time, the area to which the low beam 160 is directed should not be too high on the illumination surface 4. Similarly, the high beam 170 must illuminate a certain minimum area 41 on the low beam area 110 so that it can be illuminated far off the road. The areas 41 and 42 shown on the virtual screen 4 are shown in the lower part of the figure in the plan view. The plan view of the virtual screen 4 shows the disadvantages of the prior art lighting device, where the areas 41 and 42 respectively covered by the high beam 170 and the low beam 160 are connected in a completely illuminated area on the virtual screen. In other words, the gaps 43 are separated. This gap 43 appears from the driver's viewpoint as a dark area or an area where the lighting is not reachable, and the safety of the driver and the safety of pedestrians and animals on the shoulder are jeopardized.

  FIG. 2a shows a prior art illumination device that irradiates the virtual illumination screen 4 with a high beam 170 and a low beam 160, and shows how the unilluminated area 43 occurs. Obviously, the dimensions and distances of this figure and the next figure are very simplified and are for illustrative purposes only. Here, the two light sources S1 and S2 are attached to the carrier 13 or the substrate 13 behind the lens 2 of the headlight device. One light source S1 is “above” the optical axis X and the light beam 16 emanating from this light source S1 is imaged to a first exit beam 160 or low beam 160 to provide a low beam projection 42 on the virtual screen. Another light source S2 is “below” the optical axis X, and the light beam 17 emitted from this light source S2 is imaged into a second exit beam 170, ie a high beam 170, and a low beam projection 41 on the virtual screen 4. give. In order to achieve this, the light source emits in a Lambertian manner, and most of the optical output is lost, as shown by line 15. The image 42 from the upper light source S1 is indicated by lines emanating from the center of the light source S1, and these lines converge to points on the virtual screen 4 that correspond to the center of the light source image 42 of the first exit beam 160. . Similarly, the image 41 from the lower light source S2 is indicated by lines emanating from the center of the light source S2, and these lines converge to points on the virtual screen 4 corresponding to the center of the light source image 41 of the exit beam 170 ( For clarity, the figure shows only the point indicating the center of the light source and the corresponding point in the image of that light source). The gap between the light sources S1, S2 is also “imaged” as a gap 43 between the regions 41, 42 on the screen. However, since the distance of the projection plane requires two clearly distinguishable imaged regions, the light sources S1 and S2 cannot be arranged side by side.

  FIG. 2 b shows another prior art illumination device that irradiates the virtual illumination screen 4 with a high beam 170 ′ and a low beam 160 ′. Here, the light sources S1 and S2 are in the collimators C1 and C2, and the light source images 41 and 42 can be rendered on the virtual screen 4 using more light. However, the light sources S1, S2 are still separated and the gap corresponding to the image area 41, 42 on the virtual screen 4 due to the effective gap between the light sources S1, S2 (or the light exit apertures of the collimators C1, C2). 43 is produced.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an integrated illumination device 1A according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Here, the pair of collimators C1 and C2 including the light sources S1 and S2, respectively, is disposed after the optical device 2, in this case, after the projection lens 2. The optical exit aperture of the collimators C1 and C2 is the focal plane of the lens 2. Near the FP, after its focal plane FP. Further, the collimators C1 and C2 are configured such that each collimator directs the light beam to the portion of the lens 2 that is basically opposite to the optical axis X. The term “optical axis” should be understood as an imaginary line that defines the path of light propagating through the lens. In the case of the basically symmetrical lens shown here, the optical axis is the rotational symmetry axis of the lens. As shown, the first collimator C1 (above the optical axis X) directs the light beam L1 to the lower part of the lens 2 (under the optical axis X) and the second collimator (under the optical axis X). The collimator C2 directs the light beam L2 toward the top of the lens 2 (above the optical axis X). By using the collimators C1, C2 with essentially parallel sidewalls, “tight” light cones L1, L2 emitted by the collimators C1, C2 are obtained. The collimators C1 and C2 are configured so that the light beams L1 and L2 partially intersect (as shown in the shaded area) to form a focal plane overlap area LFP on the focal plane FP. Yes. The image of the “object” in the focal plane FP is projected on the virtual screen 4 to form a high beam region 410 corresponding to the second light beam L2 and a low beam region 420 corresponding to the first light beam L1. The overlap area 44 on the projection screen is the overlap between the high beam area 410 and the low beam area 420, but is effectively an “image” of the focal plane overlap area LFP on the focal plane FP of the lens 2, It is highlighted with a black thick line. The overlap area 44 optimally illuminates the area illuminated by the headlamp from the driver's point of view, and eliminates a “dark gap” or unilluminated area between the low beam and the high beam.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an integrated lighting device 1B according to the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a further development of the embodiment shown in FIG. Here, the light beams L1, L2 exiting the collimators C1, C2 are first reflected by the prism elements 6 attached to the light exit apertures of the collimators C1, C2, and have a large focal plane overlap area on the focal plane FP. LFP is formed. Thereby, as shown by the thick black line, the overlap area 44 on the virtual screen 4 is better illuminated and becomes larger.

Figure 5 is not claimed in the present invention, is a block diagram showing an integrated lighting equipment. The operating principle of this embodiment is different compared to the operating principle of the previous two embodiments. Here, a pair of collimators C1 and C2 including light sources S1 and S2, respectively, is disposed behind the projection lens 2. The collimator basically directs the light beam to the same side as the collimator of the optical axis X. Direct to a certain lens 2 part. The first beam L1 is generated by the light source S1 in the first collimator C1 and is directed to the upper half of the lens above the optical axis X. The second beam L2 is generated by the light source S2 in the second collimator C2 and is directed to the lower half of the lens below the optical axis X. For example, by using the collimators C1 and C2 basically in a parabolic shape, conical light cones L1 and L2 emitted by the collimators C1 and C2 are obtained. The collimators C1 and C2 may be configured as a bicavity collimator having a dividing wall, the outer wall of each of the collimators C1 and C2 having a parabolic shape, and the focal point of the parabola being near the common dividing wall. The projection lens 2 includes additional functional elements 21 and 22. A spreading element 21 is mounted above the lens 2 and a shift element 22 is mounted below the lens. A part of the first light beam L1 reaches the center region of the lens 2, but most of the first light beam L1 is projected on the virtual screen region 420. The remainder of the first beam L1 reaches the diverging element 21 and is diverged and projected onto an area 421 on the virtual screen 4. The second beam mostly reaches the lower half of the lens above the shift element 22 and is projected onto the high beam area 410 of the virtual screen 4. The rest of the second beam reaches the shift element 22, is refracted and projected onto the shifted high beam region 411 on the virtual screen 4.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an integrated illumination device 1D according to the third embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is a combination of the operating principles of the previous embodiments. Again, the collimators C1 and C2 are configured so that the first and second light beams L1 and L2 intersect in front of the focal plane FP, but the lens 2 is also reinforced by the shift element 22 and the diverging element 21. Yes. Since the collimators C1, C2 are configured to direct their light beams L1, L2 across the optical axis X, the shift element 22 is attached to the area above the lens 2 and the diverging element 21 is the lens 2 Attached to the lower area. A part of the first beam L1 and the second beam L2 reaches between the diverging element 21 and the shift element 22 of the lens 2 and becomes a low beam area 420 and a high beam area 410 on the virtual screen 4, respectively. The focal plane overlap area LFP on the focal plane FP is projected as an overlap area LFP on the virtual screen 4, while the diverging element 21 forms a more optimal low beam region 421 and the shift element 22 is improved high beam. Region 411 is formed.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a projector lens 2 having additional functional elements 21 and 22 used in the embodiment of the illumination device according to the present invention described with reference to FIGS. In this embodiment, the shift element 22 has a series of flat prism elements 220 oriented to refract incoming light away from the optical axis of the lens. This shift element 22 is used to obtain an optimized high beam region 411 on the virtual screen 4. The diverging element 21 has a series of cylindrical lenses 210. This cylindrical lens has a function of diverging light entering this region of the lens 2 and is used to obtain a wide low beam region 421 on the virtual screen 4.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing an integrated lighting device 1E according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. Here, instead of the projection lens, the reflector 3 is used to direct light to the outside of the illumination device 1. The reflector 3 is schematically shown by being simplified by a curve. The curve basically represents a part of a parabolic open-ended reflector. The pair of collimators C1 and C2 is arranged above the optical axis of the reflector 3, and the light sources S1 and S2 are imaged so as not to “shadow” the collimator device. The actual path of the three-dimensional space through which the light beam propagates can be shown in the figure. Basically, part of the light emitted by the first collimator C1 goes to the diverging element 31 of the reflector 3. Similarly, part of the light emitted by the second collimator C2 goes to the shift element 32 of the reflector 3. These diverging and shifting elements 31, 32 are appropriately shaped areas of the reflector 3, or additional optical elements attached at appropriate positions on the inner wall of the reflector 3. The reflector 3 is designed to direct light emitted from the collimators C 1 and C 2 to the low beam region 420, the diverging low beam region 421, the high beam region 410, and the shifted high beam region 411 of the virtual screen 4. Again, the overlap region 44 is obtained by the overlap of the high beam region 410 and the low beam region 420.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a headlamp device 12 according to an embodiment of the present invention, which has a pair of light sources S1 and S2 arranged in a pair of collimators C1 and C2 in the housing 120 after the projection lens 2. 1 shows an optical device. The light sources S 1, S 2 are here LED light sources S 1, S 2 of the type such as Luxeon® Altilon, which are mounted on a suitable heat sink 121. One or both of the collimators are mounted on the movable base, and the collimator can be tilted toward or away from the optical axis X of the projection lens 2 by controlling the movable base. For example, in response to user input (optionally turning on the high beam), in response to a sensor (detecting whether the vehicle is passing the hill or the vehicle is approaching a curve), or other suitable In response to the control signal, the driver 122 supplies the necessary control signal to activate one or both of the light sources S1, S2. In any situation, the illuminator collimators C1, C2 can be controlled so that the low and high beams overlap optimally in the overlap region as described above.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the automobile 10 having the headlamp device 12 shown in FIG. 8 that irradiates the virtual irradiation screen 4 25 m away from the headlamp device 12 with the high beam BHI and the low beam BLO. Using any of the embodiments described with reference to FIGS. 3-7 to operate the low beam BLO and the high beam BHI, an optimal overlap region 44 is obtained on the virtual screen 4 for the driver and other traffic actors. Increase safety.

  Although the invention has been disclosed in the form of preferred embodiments and variations thereof, it will be appreciated that many additional modifications and variations can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The integrated illumination device described here can be used for any combination of two types of light, such as a high beam / DRL (daylight), a fog lamp / DRL, and a high beam / fog lamp.

  For clarity of explanation, in this application, “a” or “an” does not exclude a plurality of cases, and “comprising” does not exclude other steps or elements.

Claims (13)

An integrated lighting assembly,
Optical devices;
A first light source for generating a first light beam;
First collimator to the light beam spread toward the first light beam to said optical device;
A second collimator for the light beam spread towards the and the second light beam to said optical device; a second light source for generating a second light beam
In the first and second collimators, the collimator on one side of the optical axis of the integrated illumination assembly basically directs the light beam to a region of the optical device on the other side of the optical axis, and the first collimator The light beam intersects the second light beam before reaching the optical device; and the optical device manipulates the first and second light beams to operate a low exit beam and a high exit beam. An integrated lighting assembly that allows the low exit beam and the high exit beam to partially meet in an overlap region on a projection surface at a predetermined distance from the integrated lighting assembly. The optical device includes a diverging element that diverges incident light in a horizontal direction and / or a shift element that shifts incident light in a vertical direction.
The integrated lighting assembly of claim 1. The diverging element diverges at least a part of the first light beam before being operated by the optical device, and is irradiated with the low exit beam, and the second overlapped in the projection plane. To give the light beam area,
The integrated lighting assembly of claim 2. The shift element shifts at least a part of the second light beam before being operated by the optical device, and is irradiated with the high-exit beam so that the second overlapped in the projection plane is second. To give the light beam area,
The integrated lighting assembly according to claim 2 or 3. The optical device has a projection lens;
5. An integrated lighting assembly according to any one of claims 2-4 . The shift element has a plurality of prism elements mounted on the projection lens, and is configured to shift light incident on the shift element in a vertical direction before reflection by the projection lens;
The integrated lighting assembly of claim 5. The diverging element has a plurality of cylindrical lens elements mounted on the projection lens, and is configured to refract light incident on the diverging element before being refracted by the projection lens and diverge in a horizontal direction.
The integrated lighting assembly of claim 5. The first and second light beams at least partially intersect at a focal plane overlap region on a focal plane of the optical device, the overlap region on the projection plane corresponding to the focal plane overlap region;
8. An integrated lighting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims. A collimator device, the optical exit apertures of the first and second collimators being near the focal plane of the optical device;
9. An integrated lighting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims. A collimator device, the collimator having a prism element at its optical exit aperture, the prism element configured to refract the light beam in the direction of the optical axis;
The integrated lighting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims. The light source is an LED light source,
11. An integrated lighting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims. The collimator has a near die collimator having a length of 6-18 mm, most preferably about 12 mm in length,
12. An integrated lighting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.   An automotive headlamp device comprising an integrated lighting assembly according to any one of the preceding claims.

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